Domestic Service and Gender, 1660-1750 (Women and Men in History Series) [Paperback]

Timothy Meldrum (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0582312086 | ISBN-13: 978-0582312081 | Publication Date: September 2000

In this exciting new study Tim Meldrum explores the "real lives" of domestic servants. From close examination of court records and other documentary evidence, he has reconstructed the lives of ordinary domestic servants in London. A revealing account of life below the stairs, the gendered nature of domestic service, how different members of the household interacted with one another, it makes a valuable contribution to the "separate spheres" debate.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This is a well-written book that deserves to reach an audience outside its specialism.  Those studying households and families will need to read it and those studying the socail history of this period will benefit from it.'

Continuity and Change Vol 17/2 - 2002, Leonard Schwarz, Department of Economic History,

From the Back Cover

This book presents the lives of men and women who lived and worked as domestic servants in London between 1660 and 1750 using the testimony of 1,500 individual servants who were alive in a distinct phase of English history Domestic Service and Gender, 1660-1750 explores household relations, sex and slander, life cycle, working conditions, compensation, and special perks for diverse servants. It addresses the controversies over the early modern family and the myth of separate spheres. Its broad scope encompasses histories of privacy, desire and social relations, of cultures of work, and of moral economies of service. Integrating the latest social and cultural histories, this books shows how thousands of men and women got their living within the households of the sometimes turbulent, always vibrant world of England's capital city.

For readers interested in social history. Hardcover - 0-582-31207-8

$ 84.95y

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Longman Group United Kingdom (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0582312086
• ISBN-13: 978-0582312081
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,526,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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